Island's cedars Fighting the Christmas tree bug requires a great deal of thoroughness, akin to searching for a needle in a haystack, reports Matthew Taylor after visiting a plantation in Quebec, Canada In a field of 110,000 Canadian Christmas trees a two-women team of Bermudian inspectors are looking for something the size of a pin head.

And if they find a single dot of Pine Needle Scale they will ban every tree in this mile and quarter long field from being imported to Bermuda.

This pine needle in a haystack style search is the front line defence against a disease that could destroy our Island's cedars.

We are at the St. Sebastian plantation in Quebec and owner Gerald Couture is quietly confident, despite Bermuda's zero tolerance policy.

Other sites haven't been so lucky -- inspectors Claire Jessey-Aldrich and Anastasia Smith have already rejected 12 out of the 13 sites that they saw in Nova Scotia.

Claire explains the rationale behind Bermuda's stringent standards for keeping out the sap-sucking bug which settles on the underside of the pine needles.

She says: "Pine Needle Scale (PNS) could be devastating because we don't spray cedars. It could potentially get worse because we don't do aerial spraying because of the way we collect water from roofs in Bermuda.

"It's definitely better if we inspect now than find a problem when it gets to Bermuda -- who would want responsibility for those trees then? There's a lot of money involved.'' "Last year we found PNS in low numbers when containers got to Bermuda and we fumigated and the needles fell off and people blamed us. This year we won't do that because we found that despite the fumigation it was infested with another insect -- and if that survived the PNS could also survive.'' Claire and Anastasia zig-zag through the field pausing to hunch down by trees and look for PNS which resembles flecks of white paint.

Anastasia notes as she roots among the branches: "There's absolutely nothing living in here.'' It can be backbreaking work and because the hunting season has started today the pair are togged out in luminous orange gear in the hope that they won't be mistaken for a deer as they rustle through the trees.

Claire says: "Last year we were crouching in a foot of snow. We had to shake the snow off the trees before we could look.'' "The thing that motivates me is my role in protecting Bermuda -- we are a line of defence. At the end of the day I feel useful.'' Mr. Couture's field gets the thumbs up -- a testament to his thorough approach to bug control.

"You have to know when the bug is vulnerable -- that's when you nail them. We spray at night because there's no wind or sun which might evaporate the spray.

"I work all day in the fields, have a meal, then go out on the tractor and spray till three or four in the morning.

"We also keep clean farms. Weeds attract insects and give them a place to hide.'' "Site selection helps -- if it's high with no other woods surrounding it then bugs are less likely.'' And site visits are an important part of the work of the Agriculture and Fisheries Department.

Anastasia has just returned from Maine where she inspected potatoes while a trip to Georgia to inspect turf grass for fire ants is on the cards for one of the staff.

The department's philosophy on is a simple one.

Claire, 29, explains: "When people are trying to import insects we think `If we don't know them then we don't know what they might do so we don't want them.'' "I told this to a woman who wanted to bring in butterflies to let loose at her wedding. So then she wanted to know what we did have so she could bring those in.

"But even if we already have them if they are a different subset of a species they could bring in a virus that could wipe out ours.

"Bermuda is so small disease can spread quickly. Everything gets some inspection but insects from Florida and the Caribbean which have adapted to a warm climate like ours are a serious concern.

"Those from cold climates are not such a worry because they won't survive.'' At the next site Claire tells me how she got the bug for bugs after being impressed by a slide show at college.

"They were just so pretty, unique and colourful.'' After getting a Biology degree in Nova Scotia and a Masters in London she began work with the Bermudian government as an insect specialist.

"On any given day I never know what I will be doing.

"I could be called to the dock to inspect a boat which has spiders or sent to the airport to look at a shipment of lawn furniture or called out to somebody's house to find out what the insects are which have killed a tree in their garden.'' However her love of creepy crawlies isn't total. She says: "I do admit to hating cockroaches. I really have to prepare myself if I have to deal with those.'' Fighting the Christmas tree bug Her colleague Anastasia, 25, also deals with insects as well as inspecting trays of nursery plants brought to their office at the botanical gardens.

Anything they don't like the look of is taken straight to the Tynes Bay incinerator where it is destroyed immediately.

Fruit smuggling is a big problem. She explains: "Customs confiscates anything that comes in. People go over to the West Indies for the test match and try to sneak stuff in. But they often have mites and flies.'' The next day we head to Mr. Couture's North Hill site where proceedings are enlivened by the sound of nearby gunfire.

Again the site gets a clean bill of health with its trees joining the 15,000 or so heading for Bermuda this Christmas.

At the next site ran by a different owner the hunt for PNS goes on.

Claire says: "At least it is quite easy to spot -- it may be tiny but it is a bright white colour. Some insects try to disguise themselves and look like the tree they are on.'' Half an hour later she returns with a little plastic bag with the tell-tale white spots, leaving us with the grim task of giving the owner Simone the bad news.

The girls confess to being less than elated by their find. Anastasia says: "We spotted something and we said `Please don't let it be that.''' "When we tell farm owners they don't get angry -- they just get silent. But I would certainly be worried if I was doing this on my own.'' Claire points out the limits of the banned area and the girls head off to search again. It's a bad day for the owner with none of his sites getting the green light.

But Claire adds: "It doesn't mean he can't sell his trees -- it just means they can't come to Bermuda. Some countries aren't worried about PNS.'' As the cold begins to bite and the light fades we head off to the last site and the girls march off towards the sound of not so distant gunfire.

Dedicated though the girls are to their job they are less than thrilled with the idea of being hunted for sport.

After a while our driver Kevin becomes concerned they are lost and he heads off into the murk calling their names.

I spot an orange figure but it disappears again. Kevin comes back to me very concerned for the girls.

He says: "There's guys walking around with guns right in this field!'' The situation calls for prompt action - the girls' lives are at stake so I set off at breakneck pace -- to hide in the car. Well, there's no sense in being a hero. These things have a way of working themselves out.

Moments later the girls return -- they have been out their for an hour and a half and were on the point of giving up when Anastasia found the offending bug amid the gunfire and gloom.

She explains that watching the Blair Witch Project horror flick recently -- in which a group of people get lost in the woods -- had added to the spooky atmosphere.

"I definitely don't want to be in the woods. I also saw droppings which were too big for a dog or a deer. Maybe it was a bear.'' And as Claire adds: "There must be 200 guys with guns in this area. What are the chances of them all being normal?'' The next day we head off to one of Mr. Couture's sites which he leases from another farmer. His colleague Kevin Frost explains, as if tempting fate: "This is one of the good ones.'' Within five minutes Anastasia returns clutching a sprig which will condemn this site.

Kevin says: "That didn't take long. I'm very surprised. We sprayed that on the same night as others which passed.'' However it wasn't as easy to find as one site in Nova Scotia. Anastasia says: "As soon as we got there the owner went straight up to a tree and said `Is that it?' We said `Yes, let's go home. He then said: `I've always had my suspicions about that tree.''' We then move further along over a hill. The rules say that if one PNS outbreak is found the whole field is condemned. The hunt can begin again if there is a natural break such as a hill or natural wood.

By now I am quite keen to do my bit to save Bermuda's environment so I start hunting for the offending insect.

Within moments I point out a suspicious white mark to Anastasia. But she says: "Nah, that's just a dot.'' Tree-mendous effort: Claire Jessey-Aldrich and Anastasia Smith hunt for Pine Needle Scale which poses a threat to our island's Cedar trees. If they find just one bug the whole field will be barred from exporting to Bermuda.

Branching out: Trees are marked with paint according to size -- a team of just three men can cut and bind 1,200 trees in a day.

Prize winners: Trees from Quebec Balsams Inc. won the Canadian National Christmas Tree competition in 1997 and 1998. Artificial insemination from trees with great characteristics help produce healthy, pretty trees.